


Observations

by SynthSea



Category: Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Multi, Other, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2018-12-05 09:28:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11575230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SynthSea/pseuds/SynthSea
Summary: A collection of drabbles revolving around my characters in-game, mostly for myself to get a better handle on them for roleplaying purposes, but also because I want to explore these peoples' lives and the world they inhabit, damnit.





	1. Perseverance

Patience is a virtue, was one of many lessons Rupestria heard from her mentors during her days in the Grove. Patience is a virtue, was also a lesson learnt from the higher ranking agents when she was still a novice in the Order of Whispers. Patience is a virtue, was her mantra when she was stranded in the middle of a chak hive, forced to recover with a Courtier by her side.

There were some days when she wondered if patience was not a virtue, but instead a damned rock in her shoe.

The familiar glowing figures towered in the distance beyond the barricade. Rupestria remembered when she first set foot in the Vale, her wonderment at the looming forest, the strange beings made of energy. She also remembered the complete surprise of how difficult they were to take on, one after the other, until the squad had to call for a retreat and return to Falgeir empty handed. And so it went, on and on. Not that there were still Pact members to be saved at that point — another group of adventurers had retrieved Bennet long before Rupestria had even heard of Spirit Vale. But the area still teemed with dangers, and securing the location was a never ending fight, and so Falgeir and the remainder of Bennet’s squad stayed.

And Rupestria found herself lying flat on the ground before the Vale Guardian, staring at the sky with exhaustion and mounting anger, waiting for extraction, over and over.

“This is madness,” she exploded, pacing her room. “It seems we’re never able to defeat this creature, much less breach the barrier and explore what’s beyond—”

“Nothing is undefeatable,” interjected Diamante. “It exists. It has a weakness. You find it and you use it.”

“Sunbreaker, you have not seen this thing.”

“No, I have not. But the rule still applies.”

Rupestria threw up her hands and flopped on her bed. Skadi whined from her position on the bed, and Rupestria leaned over to scratch her ears as an apology. “What I’m saying is,” she continued, “It feels like I’ve been with countless groups trying to explore whatever is beyond that guardian, and with the people from the League, I’ll be doing it countless times more. God knows some of the people have more investment than pure curiosity. It’s a grudge at this point. But at the same time, it would be immensely satisfying to see that thing dead on the ground for once, instead of being flat on my back, waiting to be transported to safety.”

“Then keep at it,” said Diamante flatly. “It sounds like you don’t want to give up,, and these people don’t want to either. So that means you get to keep going until you have to find new adventurers.”

“Which isn’t happening anytime soon either,” Rupestria sighed. “I like these people. I wish I wasn’t held up for so long, but I’m glad that coming back isn’t so hard.”

“Good. You do poorly on your own, that much I remember. We're all split up now, more or less.”

“Oh, speaking of!” Rupestria sat up. “Have you gone back to the ring?” Diamante shook her head. She moved to sit on the bed close to Skadi, the mattress dipping under their combined weights. Skadi huffed and moved closer to solicit pets, which Diamante gave absentmindedly.

“I stopped a few years ago. I think I’d done what I wanted, or realized what I wanted is elsewhere. I’m a smith now. Make weapons and armor for the rings, or repairs, if they ask.”

“Look at us — fighters for the Pact, once upon a time, and now we’re retired crafters.”

Diamante snorted. “Speak for yourself. I’m still waiting to find the one challenge. The good one, to let my name ring in history. It’s good to take time and reflect. Patience and perseverance are what make the hunt a legend.”

“Patience and perseverance,” Rupestria agreed. “I suppose they apply to this particular hunt as well.”

“They do.” Diamante stood up, and Skadi followed, hopping off the bed. “Well, thank you for inviting me. Wolf walk with your hunt, and your bakery project.”

“I’ll take those blessings. Wolf walk with you as well.” Rupestria walked Diamante to the door, exchanging a hug briefly before the norn walked down the cobbled streets of Divinity’s Reach, Skadi loping by her side.

Once the door was closed, Rupestria leaned on it and sighed, sliding down to the floor. She looked at the communication device attached to her wrist. It was almost time to head to the Lion’s Arch Aerodrome, where the League’s raiding regular’s would be assembling soon. With another sigh and a grunt, Rupestria pushed herself to her feet. “Well, no point in putting it off,” she muttered, grabbing her pack and weapons. “By the Tree, this thing is going down today.”

Several hours later, Rupestria found herself flat on her back again, wheezing and sore as her sword lay inches from her hand. The world was ringing and spinning, as the rest of her comrades continued to fight the guardian. She took in another deep breath, pulling air into herself, willing her legs to move again. At least the guardian was beginning to look as winded as she felt, or at least, she thought so. It was starting to stagger a little, flagging under the desperate attacks the rest of the squad were flinging at it.

Beneath her, the stones started to hum, and Rupestria could feel the magic buzzing in anticipation, preparing to light up her section of the platform with magic. Sucking air through her teeth, she braced herself for the shock — the last time she was caught unawares, the pain of it was enough for her to black out. Chances were that the next time she opened her eyes, she would be in the medical tent, with a healer hovering over her, and the sound of the league’s raiding leaders discussing tactics for next time.

“WE DID IT!”

The world erupted into a cacophony of noise, and the pain she anticipated never came. Instead her head rang as screams and cheers filled the air, and Rupestria mustered enough energy to look up. “What?” Her vision was blurry and unfocused, but the distinct image of the Vale Guardian’s glowing form was on the ground, with people surrounding it. It was still, and she had never seen it so still before, and already the magic that it was made of was slowly dispersing, until it would reform and stand guard again at the mouth of the entrance.

A hand came into view, and Rupestria took it. Every fiber of her being screamed at the exertion, but she managed to stand. “Is it dead?” she asked, picking up her sword and securing it to her waist. She limped over to where everyone was gathered. “See for yourself.” A tall purple sylvari grinned and moved aside, though he didn’t need to.

The Vale Guardian, in all its grandness and majesty, lay prone and face down on the ground. Close up, its features were still indistinguishable, and the form still pulsated with dissipating magic.

Rupestria took in a deep breath, closing her eyes.

“Are you alright?” someone asked.

“I’m savoring the moment,” she replied.

Patience and perseverance, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter came from my guild's multiple attempts on Vale Guardian, one of the raid bosses. apparently the guild had been going at it for 3 months, but when we got the win, everyone screamed and you could practically feel the endorphins that everyone was feeling right then.


	2. A message

Since the season of the Colossus, the bakery had been in non-stop production mode. Rupestria learned to prepare for the holiday season when she started as an undercover agent at the bakery in Lion’s Arch, and handling crowds, mass orders, and general heavy customer traffic was a skill she had learned to apply as skillfully as she used a sword. Still, no amount of preparation helped her face her first year running her own bakery during Wintersday in the greatest human city, Divinity’s Reach.

Revelers passed the streets in flocks, stopped by the bakery in flocks, and left in flocks. More than once, Rupestria had to bribe any of the roaming orphans and urchins near Salma to help distribute orders to various parts of the city, slipping them an enchanted talisman to disguise them as couriers, and then rewarding them with coin and food when they returned. Beatrys, Fennel, and Leon, the three workers in the bakery, had been working non-stop, starting from opening to close. Leftover product were also pulled to be donated to refugees from Amnoon, hopefully to relieve some of the stress in the region.

And from Rupestria had heard, there were plenty of stressors in the area, but at the moment, nothing really compared to the stress from the non-stop flow of Wintersday customers.

“We’re out of the mint cakes,” said Fennel, looking very harassed as she swooped into the back room. “Leon’s taking over for the register right now, but we already have people asking about replacements.”  
“We have none for the day,” said Rupestria. “Just tell them that those are made first come first serve. They can handle it.”

Fennel made a very reluctant noise in protest, but ran back out front. Through the constant hum of customers, Rupestria could hear the young human talking in apologetic tones. Near the oven, Beatrys snorted and shook her head, thin, willow-branchlet strands of hair rustled with the movement. “Poor girl, I don’t envy her having to tell all these people that something is gone for the day.”

Rupestria shrugged. “It guarantees business the next day at least,” she said.

“That’s true,” agreed the other sylvari.

There was a tapping noise at the back door and Rupestria glanced at the doorway leading to the shopfront before walking over. “I’m coming,” she called, wiping her hands quickly on her apron. A blink of her eyes, a small charge of focused magic, and a solid phantasm shimmered into existence. The phantasm reached the door, held its hand out to brush the knob, and an audible click was heard before the door creaked open and the phantasm shimmered out of existence again. Standing at the door were four youths, slack jawed and staring at where the phantasm stood. Rupestria walked over and snapped her fingers.

“Well?”

The oldest looking child shook her head quickly and refocused on Rupestria. “We did it. All the right houses an’ ev’rything. Even took our disguises off when we got to Minister Rachel and she gave us coin for our troubles. Ean got a gold one for bein’ ‘extra adorable’.” At that, a smaller kid by her side pulled out a single gold coin proudly before shoving it back in his pocket. Rupestria raised an eyebrow but grinned wryly at them.

“Great job, Vinia. Just make sure that Ean doesn’t spend it at the carnival.” Rupestria stepped to the side to let them in. Vinia beamed at Rupestria, ruffled Ean’s head once, and ushered the smaller children in before following. “You know where the talisman basket is. Drop them off, the magic will deactivate. There’s no leftovers yet, but I did leave some bread for you in the back.”

The three children ran further back into the back area of the bakery, but Vinia paused after dropping her disguise talisman off. “Oh, ma’am. There’s someone asking for you, by the way. Looks like some adventuring type, but fancier. Saw us running around the back of the building and followed us to ask if you was around. Told her I’d tell you.”

Rupestria frowned. The description was vague, yet oddly descriptive. “Did you get a name?” she asked.

Vinia snapped her fingers in disappointment. “Shoot. Uh. Her name sounded Canthan? Missu...something?”

“I know who that is. I got it.” Rupestria nodded. Her fingers brushed the VOX unit that was tucked away in her waist pouch, so that it wouldn’t accidentally have baking ingredients stuck to it if it had stayed on her wrist. She knew that if she checked the display on the VOX, Mitsumu Endwood’s dot would be wandering around the shopfront, or the back door where Vinia and her small gang disappeared into.

Vinia gave a quick salute, and ran to join the other children to eat what Rupestria had set aside. “Adventuring business?” Beatrys asked, watching Rupestria stare at the back door thoughtfully.

“Yeah, mind keeping an eye while I take care of this? I should be quick.”

Beatrys waved a hand. “Go. Your mind has been gone since Mad King’s Day ended. Whatever is going on with you and your guild, I think you’ve been looking forward to it far more.”

Rupestria said nothing, but only shot the other sylvari an incredulous look as she went. Beatrys only waved at her cheerfully as the door closed, and Rupestria walked around the building to find Mitsumu.

The Priory scholar was hovering around the window display of the bakery, very obviously peering through the window and searching. Rupestria cleared her throat as she approached. “Miss Endwood. You know, the easier way would have been coming in to ask for me, instead of asking random children in the area.”

Mitsumu whirled around, surprised at first, but looked relieved once she saw who it was. “Rupestria! Keilis sent me. Can we talk?” Rupestria raised an eyebrow but nodded, waving for Mitsumu to follow.

“I assume this is about the research he’s working on? With light, darkness, and the stars?”

They reached the backdoor of the bakery and went in. Beatrys looked up and began to stand, but Rupestria waved a hand at her. “I can grab the kids, just take care of the shop.” Beatrys nodded and resumed kneading the ball of dough in front of her. Mitsumu looked around curiously. “Kids?” she asked.

Rupestria shrugged. “What do you call them…temporary employees? Seasonal workers? I’m a little short on hands and they are short on coin and food. It's an arrangement that helps both of us.”

Leading Mitsumu into the back, Rupestria passed the small living room before the stairs up. She poked her head in, and saw that Vinia was already speaking in hushed voice and moving small markers around a small table. “Vinia,” Rupestria said, catching the attention of all the urchins. Vinia looked up. “I’ve got a guest. Bea will probably give you your next assignment. You take care of it, alright?”

“You got it, ma’am.” Vinia saluted her and resumed talking.

“Let's go upstairs,” Rupestria said to Mitsumu. “Don't worry, Bea has a handle on things, the shopfront will be fine.”

Upstairs was quieter, and was furnished simply. A table stood near the landing, with a simple potted plant and a few sheafs of paper on it. As Rupestria passed it, she gave it a quick look, picked out some envelopes, and continued walking with Mitsumu behind her. “Go ahead and take a seat,” Rupestria said, nodding towards an open room to the side. “I’ll grab tea or water. Preference?”

“I’ll take tea. Anything herbal is fine.” Mitsumu went to the living room and took a seat. It was a simple room, two soft chairs, a table between. The mantle over the fireplace was empty, and most of the light came from the window overlooking the street. The most decorating that the room had was a string of vines that seemed to grow naturally along the windowsill, but at a closer look, showed that it was something carefully shaped and designed by a sylvari.

Rupestria came back with two cups in her hand, and set them down on the table. “Jasmine tea,” she said, by way of explanation. She took one cup and settled in the chair opposite of Mitsumu. “Alright, Keilis sent you? For his research?”

“Are you familiar with his research project? With the stars and the night sky and such?”

“I’m familiar with it, yes,” Rupestria nodded. She thought of the letter that was tucked away in her drawer, upstairs in her room. “I know that he was planning on starting the...in-field research part of things. Is that what you’re here for?”

“Yeah.” Mitsumu reached for her cup and took a sip from it before continuing. “I think he’s taking things bit by bit, and honestly, that’s a good thing from what I saw.”

“How so?”

Mitsumu fidgeted with her cup for a moment. Rupestria raised her eyebrows but said nothing, waiting for Mitsumu to find her words. “Well,” Mitsumu started to say, “I don’t know if this makes much sense, and it’s maybe coincidence, but whatever he’s doing to capture light and darkness and the essences of things he needs...I don’t understand entirely, but there was backlash of some kind. Nothing harmful!” she added hastily when Rupestria frowned. “But it was something that Ixion and I felt while standing around for the ritual. It was uncanny. Uncomfortable.”

“Hmm.” Rupestria made a non-committal noise and nodded.

“Um. But basically, he is gathering things slowly, and I was told to let you know that if you can, reach out to him and Kivuli and Ixion for more of the in-field research.” Mitsumu finished, looking and sounding slightly awkward. Rupestria felt a slight rush of sympathy for her.

“I’ll sure he’ll be fine,” she said, leaning in slightly to pat Mitsumu’s leg in a reassuring manner. She ignored the surprised look on Mitsumu’s face and continued, “He’s asked us for help, and we’ll make sure he gets what he needs for the research. Besides, I’m sure he isn’t going in without a plan. It would be unlike him to do so.”

Slowly, Mitsumu nodded, and drained the rest of her cup. Rupestria settled back into her chair and held onto her drink, mulling over Mitsumu’s words. She remembered right, Keilis’s research was focused on the night sky of Tyria, the starlight, and the darkness in-between. It was why they kept running into each other while running jobs for Dessa in the Mists, and it was how they started talk to each other in the first place. And remembering the way he handled the challenges that came from Fractals, surely his research would be planned out.

Rupestria watched Mitsumu slowly finish her drink, and then set her cup down as she stood up. “Well, I won’t be in your way, since your bakery is still open and everything,” Mitsumu said. Rupestria set her cup down and followed, and together they went back down the stairs. “But yeah, he’s getting started on his research, and since he’s busy with his notes and recovering after the rituals and everything, he’s sent me and Ixion to let people in the next step know that it’s about to happen.”

“I appreciate you coming by,” Rupestria replied. They passed by the kitchen, where the urchins had already taken off. Whether for their next assignment, or for something else, Rupestria didn’t know. “Want to take something from the bakery before you go?”

Mitsumu shook her head. “Oh, I’m good, thank you though. I might stop by later, but with Wintersday, there’s plenty of food between my grandmother’s house and my dad’s here in the Reach.”

“Fair enough. I’ll see you around then, Miss Endwood.”

“Please call me Mitsumu,” Mitsumu said earnestly. “I feel way less awkward about it, and we’re technically peers in the League.”

Rupestria laughed, and nodded. “Alright then. I’ll write to Keilis and Kivuli. If you do see Keilis before I do, send him my best. And that he’ll hear from me soon.”

Mitsumu smiled and waved, and started down the alley, vanishing around the corner of the building. Rupestria closed the door, and took a deep breath. From what she could hear, the shopfront was still busy, with the sound of people conversing with Leon and Fennel about all the goods in the bakery. Beatrys was looking at her, hands still neatly molding balls of dough and setting them on the tray. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

“I’m thinking,” Rupestria said slowly, “That I might need to find a different manager for the bakery, in addition to hiring more people.”

Beatrys snorted. “It was about time,” she said. “The call of adventure is way louder for you, than the call of baked bread and eager customers at six in the morning.”

Rupestria grinned embarrassedly and shrugged. “I’ve got a few people to contact, but you can manage for a little bit longer, right?” Beatrys rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway, waving a dough caked hand at Rupestria.

“Go. Answer the call. Get ready for adventuring, or whatever it is you used to do.”

Rupestria smiled and walked back up the stairs. There were people she needed to contact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually a post-RP write up between myself and a guildie. Long story short, two of my characters are involved in a guildie's character's plot, and this is information being passed from one character to another.
> 
> Rupestria is my chronomancer, and my very first character that I seriously played with. Sylvari.  
> Mitsumu Endwood is my tempest. Human (Canthan).
> 
> Keilis, Ixion Sparkpaw, Kivuli Shadowpaw, are all characters belonging to different people in the guild I'm a part of.
> 
> Fennel, Leon, and Beatrys are random NPCs I made for Rupestria's bakery.


	3. Premonition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You ever say something on impulse and then immediately regret it? Watch this sylvari warden shove his foot into his mouth faster than you can say "I know your face from my dream."

There wasn’t much about Warden Ceann’s life that was unpredictable. Early morning, rise for patrol with Ferula. Break at around noon, and relax with the other wardens, until routine sparring begins. Then either afternoon patrol or an early break, depending on how the shifts were distributed. Life in the Grove was predictable, but peace also meant predictable, and until something called Ceann away, he was content with predictable.

“Excuse me.”

Ceann looked up, and found himself looking straight at the torso of the woman in front of her. A norn. With a large wolf, which looked up at him quizzically, and tilted its head. Slowly, he looked up and found himself struck dumb by the face in front of him. The norn woman, however, didn’t seem to notice. “I need directions to...the Dusk Garden? Garden of Dusk?”

“Ah, yes. Take the ramps down. It should be to your front, right side. Would you like for me to send a sapling to run with you?” Ceann shook himself out of his daze, a movement that prompted Ferula to look up at him, concerned, and nudge his leg. He ignored it. The norn looked concerned as well, but he tried his best to ignore the flash of memories running through his mind. Thankfully, she just nodded and walked in the direction of the ramps, her wolf following silently.

He was still slightly dazed as he watched her walk away, until he realized that he can’t.

“Excuse me!” Ceann called out after her, Ferula at his heels. The norn woman turned around. She hadn’t gone far, but he still felt winded, nonetheless. Ceann caught his breath, while the norn waited patiently.

“What is it?” she asked.

“I know your face from my Dream!”

Well, not exactly the way he wanted to start a conversation with a stranger, but directness was surely valued among norns? Ceann realized that he hadn’t had much experience interacting with many of the races that walked Tyria. He was a warden, charged with the safety of the Grove and his brethren. Travelers came through and walked around the Pale Tree’s boughs, but the most interaction he got was when they asked for directions, or if someone tried to pick a fight (and even then that was rare).

As he struggled to find the words to explain himself, the norn woman simply looked at him. And then a look of realization came over her face. “Ah, is that...a sylvari thing?” She nodded, looking like a sapling who had finally understood some great conundrum. “Well, thank you, and, uh, good to meet you.” While Ceann continued to stare at her, internally kicking himself, the norn nodded again and continued on her path.

“But—” When he finally managed to stutter out a word, she was already out of earshot. Her long strides already carried her imposing being to the bottom of the ramp, where it looked like someone was waiting for her. He watched the stranger be greeted, and the pair of them walked away. Dejectedly, he sighed. If he chased her down again, not only would he be shirking his duties, he would likely be causing a traveler undue alarm.

No, he would have to seek out advice.

Ferula nudged his leg again, reminding him to return to his post. “I know,” said Ceann, looking down and giving the hound a good scratch behind the ears. “But I can’t let her go without a warning. She needs to know.”

Hours later, he found himself being contradicted by Gardener Oraiste. “What? She does not need to know,” said the older sylvari. “In fact, it might be wiser to not tell her about your Dream — their interpretations can vary, and even then, they’re not definite tellings of the past or the future.” Oraiste looked concerned, his arms folded. Ceann knew he was being stubborn, but couldn’t help himself.

“Yes, but it was her face that I saw before I Awakened, surely that has some degree of importance?” he asked. “Even if I don’t know what the connection is, if there’s a possibility that I can prevent—”

“Ceann, I would advise you to not prevent something you don’t even know would happen or not,” sighed Oraiste. “No, listen. You might endanger yourself, or this person, in your attempt to help. It is admirable that you seek to prevent harm, but what you saw in your Dream may not even be literal. The future is constantly changing, and each of our decisions affect those outcomes.”

Oraiste paused, examining Ceann’s face. When he spoke again, he was gentler. “Do you wish for me to speak to Niamh about your possible resignation as a warden?” Ceann started, surprised at the suggestion, but Oraiste continued without waiting for an answer. “Your draw towards this person, your Dream, all of these are more than coincidence. I still advise against taking what you saw in the Dream to be literal, but if the trajectory of your life leads you in that direction, then I see no point in stopping you.”

“But if I can’t rely on what I saw in my Dream, how do I explain to her…” Ceann scrubbed his face with his hands with frustration. “So what I saw might not become reality. But the idea of traveling with her still feels...right.”

“Then my advice is to approach her, just ask if she’s a traveler and that if you can accompany her,” suggested Oraiste. The Gardener sighed and looked around. Various other Dawnbloom were resting, either between adventures of their own, or between lessons. A few saplings sat attentively around their older siblings, listening with rapt attention. The Garden of Dawn was buzzing with conversation and activity, and around him, Ceann could hear parts of stories that his fellow Dawnblooms were regaling the saplings with.

Oraiste clapped a hand on Ceann’s shoulder. “It’s not uncommon for wardens who later discover their true calling to leave. Niamh would understand. The world is vast, and the Dream offers us only a suggestion of what we might experience. It’s entirely up to us to go and find those experiences.”

Ceann thought again of what the Dream showed him, the flashes of purple crystals, towering beings, a streak of purple lightning, and a sinking feeling in his stomach. Now that he had a face to put to one of the beings in his dream, he couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like, if the norn he had met before became corrupted by the Crystal Dragon and all he could do was witness it.

He made up his mind.

“I’ll talk to Niamh myself,” he said, nodding slowly. “I hope she’ll understand—”

“She will.”

“And hopefully I won’t make a complete idiot out of myself out there.” Ceann finished, and Oraiste laughed.

“Brother, if you don’t do it at least once, how else would you learn? Safe travels, and Mother’s blessings go with you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a stupidly funny idea I came up with when trying to figure out how my sylvari druid and my norn would have met each other, and the idea of sylvari going up to random strangers and saying "I know your face from my dream!" and weirding them out occurred to me.
> 
> Ceann (Swift Ceann in game) is my druid, his companion is Ferula the fernhound.
> 
> The norn is Diamante Sunbreaker (Sonbreaker, to some who knew her in the Pact), and her companion here is Skadi, the wolf. Her former companion was Freyja, a snow leopard, who unfortunately perished during the Orr campaign.


End file.
